Freeing the cedars from Western blight

摘要

Try concocting a cabinet from a dozen strident factions, each representing a different religious sect, many of them backed by rival foreign powers, and one, the biggest, armed to the teeth and threatening intifada if its demands are not met. Such is the task faced by Fouad Siniora, prime minister of Lebanon. Haggling is not new to the famously bazaar-savvy Lebanese: the ancient Egyptian word for bargaining was "to speak like a Levantine". But in the aftermath of this summer's brutal war with Israel, the political stakes have risen dangerously high. The 33 days of fighting, which killed 1,200 Lebanese, destroyed 15,000 homes and cost its economy some $12 billion, exacerbated stark divisions between those who envision Lebanon as a neutral and open marketplace and those who see the country as a vanguard of "resistance" to Israel and its Western supporters. Put differently, the war made clear that this small country has become a focal point in a burgeoning region-wide contest that pits America and its allies against Iran and Syria, the latter country having pulled its army out of Lebanon only last year, after a 29-year stay.